Extensible rack.



J. L. KIVLAN.

EXTENSIBLE RACK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13. i917.

1,271,326. Patnted July 2,1918.

INvEN mY: j' zi/m' A1Ty5.

JOHN L. KIVLAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

EXTENSIBLE BACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 13, 1917. Serial No. 191,195.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. KIVLAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Extensible Racks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to a new and useful improvement in extensible racks. In putting up fruits, vegetables and other provisions in glass jars by the cold pack process, so called, it is common after the goods have been packed cold in the jars, and the covers put on, to boil the filled closed jars in water.. In carrying out this process it is common to use metal wash boilers in which the jars are placed, the boiler being filled with water suflicient to cover the jars. If the jars are placed directly on the bottom of the boiler, the heat is liable to crack the jars and moreover the water does not come in contact with the bottom of the jars. It is therefore preferable to have the jars supported on a rack so as to raise them slightly above the bottom of the boiler. It is also desirable to have the rack removable from the boiler, so that thereby the jars may be assembled on the rack outside of the boiler, and then lowered into the boiler, and also so that they may be readily removed fromv the boiler by lifting out the rack.

Different sized boilers are used, and in or: der to avoid the necessity of providing a variety of sizes of racks to accommodate the difi'erent boilers, the object of the present invention is to provide an extensible rack which in its most compact form will fit a relatively small sized boiler, and which may be extended to fit boilers of one or more sizes larger than the smaller sized boiler.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof'will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of a rack embodying my invention and showing in dotted lines a boiler in which the rack is placed, the rack being shown empty of jars.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rack removed from the boiler and in its unexpanded form.

Fig. 3 isa plan view showing the rack in its expanded form.

Fig. 4 is a section on line,44 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 is the frame of the rack which is preferably of hollow ovoid form corresponding in peripheral contour to the usual contour of wash boilers. This frame is also preferably made of sheet metal, and in order to combine strength with lightness and to enable it to stand up a suitable height above the bottom of the boiler, the rim of the frame is made hollow, being preferably in cross section somewhat like an inverted U as shown in Fig. 4, thus having a flat top face a, an inner peripheral wall I), and an outer peripheral wall 0, and having an open bottom. Extending lengthwise outside of the two sides of the frame are two tubes 2, 2, each of which is supported on the outer ends respec tively of a series of wire slide rods 3, 3, said rods 3, 3, passing loosely through perforations in the inner and outer peripheral walls of the frame, just below the top wall a of the frame. Said wire rods are thus supported in said apertures as bearings and are slidable therein so that the said tubes 2, 2,

which are connected with the rods 3, 3, may be moved in and out with relation to the sides of the frame. These tubes 2, 2, preferably extend somewhat less than the full length of the frame, being stopped about at the point where the bend of the frame begins at the ends, the exact length being immaterial.

At the two ends of the frame there are provided two bowed spring wire rods or bars 4, 4, each of which is connected intermediate its ends with the outerends of a plurality of wire slide rods 5, said wire rods 5 passing loosely through apertures in the inner and outer peripheral walls I), c, of the frame at substantially the same level that the wire rods 3 pass through the frame. These rods are thus supported in bearings formed by the apertures in the frame and are longitudinally slidable therein and thus the bent wire rods 4 which are supported thereby may be moved in and out with relation to the ends of the frame. The ends of the wire rods 4 are telescoped into the tubes 2, 2, so that as the said rods 4, 4, are moved in Patented July a, 1918.

and out with relation to the ends of the tended form so that their ends do not extend so far into the tubes, the tendency of the said end rods to spring outwardly will cause the side rods 2, 2 and the slide rods 3 on which they are mounted to move outwardly away the sides of the frame. lhus the racli will extended both at the ends and the sides. the spring of the wire is not suiiicient to move the side rods out they may moved out by hand. as inner walls or the boiler 8 which the rack 1s placed will, of course, limit the outward expansionof the rack.

The walls a, b, 0, of the frame are preterably formed with apertures 6 to permit free circulation of water. Preferably the rack is provided with handles 9 attached to the two end rods 4:, 4 by which the rack may be lifted out of the bpiler'and by which it may be held to put it nto the boiler. These handles are preferably. hinged to the end rods 4, i instead of being rigidly connected thereto, aithongh this is not essential. Preferably wire netting i" is attached to the upper side of the frame and extends over the open space surrounded by the frame to form a seat for the jars. The wire slide rods 3 at the sides, and 5 at the ends, together with the extensible end rods and side rods are suificientiy close together so as to form a seat for the jars outsideof the body of the frame.

Preferably the handles 9 are each provided with a hook 71 which may be hooked over the top rim of the boiler 8, so that if desired the reel: may be hung in a suspended position in the upper part of the hoilen.

at 1 claim is: 1. An extensible rack comprising a middle body portion, two bowed substantially U- shaped. wires, the middle portions of the bows forming end rim portions for the rack, the branches of each of said wires forming a partial side rim outside of said bodyportion, and. guides adjacent the sides and slidably secured to said body portion through which the branches of the said wires are slidable to permit movement of said wires tolength of the rack, the said branches being capable of lateral spreading movement away from said body portion, the spreading of the branches of said wires permitting lateral movement of the guides away from said body portion.

2. An extensible rack comprising a middle body portion, two bowed substantiall U- shaped wires, the middle portions 0 the bows forming end rim portions for the rack, the branches of each of said wires forming a partial side rim outside of said body portion, and guides adjacent the sides and slidably secured to said body portion through which the branches of the said wires are slidable to permit movement of said Wires toward and away from each other to vary the length of the rack, the said branches being capable of lateral spreading movement away from said body portion, the spreading of the branches oi said wires permitting lateral movement of the guides away from said body portion, the bows of said and members having slidable guide connections with said body portion.

3. An extensible rack comprising a middle body portion, two wires each bowed substantially U.-shaped, the bowed middle portions of the wires forming end rim portions for the hack, the branches of each of said wires forming a partial side rim outside of said body portion, and guides adjacent the sides and slidably secured to said body portion through which the branches of said wires are slidable to permit movement of said bow portions of the wires toward and away from each other to vary the length of p the rack, the branches oi said mg outwardly to increase the width as the wires are moved lengthwise with relation to each other to extend the length of the rack, the spreading of the branches permitting lateral movement of the guides.

d. An extensible rack comprising-a middle body portion, two bowed substantially U- shaped wires, the middle portions of the bows forming end rim portions for the rack, the branches of each of said'wires forming a partial side rim outside of said body portion, the said wires being slidable toward and away from each other to vary the length of the rack, the said branches being capable of a lateral spreading movement away from said body portion, and guides for the said wires, said guides being movablewith relation to the body of the rack to permit the longitudinal and the spreading movement of the wires.

In testimony whereof I affixmy signature.

' JOHN L. KIVLAN. 

